A modular network layer for sensorsets

Abstract

An overall sensornet architecture would help tame the increasingly complex structure of wireless sensornet software and help foster greater interoperability between different codebases. A previous step in this direction is the Sensornet Protocol (SP), a unifying link-abstraction layer. This paper takes the natural next step by proposing a modular network-layer for sensornets that sits atop SP. This modularity eases implementation of new protocols by increasing code reuse, and enables co-existing protocols to share and reduce code and resources consumed at run-time. We demonstrate how current protocols can be decomposed into this modular structure and show that the costs, in performance and code footprint, are minimal relative to their monolithic counterparts.